A tower crane at Buckhead Atlanta, the luxury retail, residential and office development in Buckhead, came down Saturday.

The removal of the crane on Parcel C marks a major milestone for the project and the neighborhood. It signals the end of vertical construction and the removal of an iconic symbol on the horizon that for many years represented the region’s stalled real estate industry.

The development’s groundbreaking was in August 2007 and the crane was first erected in 2008. It was put in place with great optimism at the start of Ben Carter’s vision to create the Streets of Buckhead. However, starting in February 2009 the crane sat idle for four years as the project became a victim of the Great Recession. The idle crane eventually became a symbol for the stalled dreams of metro Atlanta.

In May 2013, when the crane swung into action again, it reaffirmed the re-birth of the block-by-block redevelopment in the Buckhead Village which had restarted in August 2012, led by OliverMcMillan, the San Diego-based company that took over the redevelopment and renamed it Buckhead Atlanta. The cranes swinging also signaled that the Atlanta real estate industry — long a bedrock of the Atlanta economy — was on the comeback trail.

With the removal of the crane Saturday, construction on Buckhead Atlanta kicks into a different gear as the opening in September nears. With vertical construction completed, the 800 workers on the site will continue detailing the building facades, the interiors of the shops, residences and offices and complete the landscaping.

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